Auburn to host writer Francisco Aragón for Hispanic Heritage Month

AUBURN UNIVERSITY – The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the College of Liberal Arts will host award-winning author Francisco Aragón Oct. 16-17 as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. A champion of Latino literature and writers, Aragón has been an influential force in publishing, translation and public awareness of Latino literary artists.

Academic and artistic presentations by faculty and students will be featured in “Entre Nosotros,” Between Us, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. in Haley Center’s Eagle’s Nest South.

Oct. 17, Aragón will give two public talks. The first, “Poetry as Activism,” will be at 11:45 a.m. in room 2225 of the Student Center as part of the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs’ Lunch and Learn Series. At 5 p.m. in room 2370 of Haley Center, Aragón will give a reading of his work and share his thoughts on the state of American literature as seen from his perspective.

In addition to his public reading, Aragón will speak to Spanish language and literature classes. Copies of his recent work will be available for purchase and signing at his public talks.

Aragón is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and has served on the board of directors of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs and as a judge for the NEA/Poetry Foundation-sponsored Poetry Out Loud program. At Notre Dame, Aragón directs Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies, and edits for Momotombo Press, which he founded. More information about Aragón can be found at http://franciscoaragon.net/.

Aragón’s visit is organized by Jana Gutierrez, associate professor of Foreign Languages and Literature and co-sponsored by the Multicultural Center and the College of Liberal Arts’ Foreign Languages and Literature and English Departments, the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities and the Women’s Studies Program.

For information about Aragón’s visit to Auburn, contact Gutierrez at gutiejf@auburn.edu, or at (334) 844-6842.